8 Keys to Heal Hypothyroidism

Hey, guys. Dr. Josh Axe here with the Jordan Rubin.

Hi.

Today, we're talking about 8 secrets to heal hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and really any type of thyroid condition. So, Jordan, I'm super pumped about today's topic. We're going to talk about the best essential oils, herbs, vitamins, and supplements that are going to help people that are being plagued with hypothyroidism. And so, Jordan, There are so many people struggling with thyroid issues today. Talk a little bit about maybe the epidemic that's going on.

Absolutely. There are estimates of as many as 20% of all women that deal with thyroid issues. Now, this is not exclusive to women, but it's common for women. You might say, well, I've not been diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis or hypothyroid. Well, nearly half the people with hypothyroid are undiagnosed. Now, we used to hear about basal temperature and different tests you can do, but if you've got brain fog, if you've got mild to moderate depression, dry skin, if you have gut issues and just a general feeling of malaise or listlessness, you likely need to balance your thyroid.

Absolutely.

This is not about necessarily a disease, it's about bringing you into balance. So right now, if you know anyone who's depressed, Who lacks energy. There's a whole host of other conditions that go along with it.

Slow metabolism, weight gain.

Absolutely. We talk about that. Why am I overweight? It's my thyroid. Well, this sluggish metabolism is really related to thyroid, and we have some amazing, I would say, hidden keys that can transform your health if you want to balance your thyroid. Nearly everybody does.

Yeah, absolutely.

And also feeling of coldness, clammy hands and feet. I see that with children now where children are very, very cold, and I have so many children, they all have different temperatures. But that's a big one, cold or clammy hands. I know people that shake hands and they're embarrassed because they say, oh, my hands are so clammy. That's really a clue. And this is not just about being overweight. I know as many or more women who are underweight that have hypothyroid.

Absolutely.

Hair falling out is another one. There's so many issues that are caused by this.

Yeah. A lot of women, one of the first keys I knew that they were having hypothyroidism is they noticed that their hair was thinner than it should have been. That's a huge thing. So all of these tips we're going to go over today. Are going to help those things.

Metabolic disorders, we'll go into infertility is big with PCOS and it's all related. And we're going to do a show upcoming in the next few weeks on adrenal health, Addison's disease, but same thing where there's Addison's disease but then there is the common adrenal fatigue. In fact, these are all huge topics. Every female over 40, I believe, needs help with their thyroid and their adrenals. So if you know anyone over 40 And as I mentioned, teenage girls, young women are dealing with this. The best time to improve your thyroid is today, whatever age you are. So there's still time. We haven't even started unveiling these 8 keys that are going to transform your thyroid health starting today. And none of this involves medication, a prescription, or even hormone manipulation, let's say. So these are all natural, easy-to-use, Absolutely.

Well, let's jump— let's dive right in here, Jordan, with number 1 on the 8 keys to heal hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's disease. And all of these things in general are also going to help things like PCOS, adrenal fatigue, and other issues. But Jordan, let's talk about number 1, thyroid-boosting foods. I'll let you start.

Now, there's many, so we'll go back and forth here. I think that when you are dealing with thyroid issues, it's really important to have the right protein and the right fats. structure of your body. So, I'm going to say bone broth is my top food for boosting the thyroid. And when you talk to thyroid experts, they talk about amino acid deficiencies, proline, glycine, and glutamine. Remember, bone broth holds you together. And what's great about bone broth, and we'll talk about some other foods later, you can combine other thyroid-boosting foods into it. So, we're going to talk— I'll give another clue, salmon is a major thyroid-boosting food. Oh, yes, huge. High in protein, high in fat. Loaded with antioxidants and omega-3s. Wild-caught sockeye is my favorite, but you can get king salmon, many others, as long as it's wild. Fish soup is really, really awesome for thyroid. Oh, yeah.

Why?

Because it also has iodine in it, which we're going to talk about as one of our key nutrients. So, bone broth from chicken, turkey, beef, bison, lamb, but fish broth is absolutely huge. Because it also has iodine. So the 2 foods that we've already named are bone broth and salmon. Now your turn.

Yeah, I got actually a quick question here. Someone says, what if I don't like seafood? From Jessica. Jessica, if you don't like seafood, there's a couple things you can possibly do. One, you still want to get broth. Maybe you don't do fish broth, but chicken bone broth and beef bone broth are great. Also, I'd say this, you know, sometimes you can kind of— I don't want to say sneak it in the food because I know fish has a very specific taste, but I found doing things like— if you don't like grilled salmon, trying salmon patties or salmon croquette or mixing it in with eggs. I mean, there are some things you could— adding it to a salad, there are some things you can do there. But if not, make sure you're definitely getting broth and probably taking a fish oil type supplement there as well. Jordan, one of my favorite foods for nourishing the thyroid are seaweeds.

Yes.

Different types of algae, whether it's kelps, seaweeds. Spirulina, chlorella. These foods are rich in iodine as we've talked about. Also, they're very nutrient-dense food. Now, one of the things we're going to talk about, another secret we'll share later is sort of the specific type of diet that Jordan and I recommend. But the type of diet that I know that I love when it comes to nourishing the thyroid is one that is very nutrient-dense, very high in vitamins, minerals, especially B vitamins as well. Jordan, there's a great study I read actually this morning. On Hashimoto's thyroiditis and getting more thiamine and B12 and other B vitamins actually has been shown to help both autoimmune disease and the thyroid. And so I think a lot of people today are deficient in certain B vitamins and so really going after on your food, getting things like Jordan talked about, fish, grass-fed beef I think is fantastic for the thyroid.

And eggs are a great source of B vitamins, particularly the yolk, and they're great with brain-boosting phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine phospholipids. And we didn't talk about this, but here's another powerful food, and this is coming up quite a bit, fish roe or caviar.

Oh, yeah.

And so, sorry if you don't like fish, but fish roe or caviar has great phospholipids for the brain. Remember, we said thyroiditis, hypothyroid often is correlated with depression, so fish roe or fish caviar. Also loaded with iodine. If you look online, what is the number one nutrient associated with thyroid issues? It's iodine, and this is a great way to get it. And when it comes to kelp, kelp is a name for a general class of seaweed. Bladderwrack is most particular in its source of iodine for thyroid issues. And what's great? Make a bone broth, put sea veggies in it, put seaweed in your bone broth. Some people like sushi or sashimi. You could do a brown or black rice roll that has nori wrapped in it, so you've got seaweed and salmon inside it. So that would be a great Japanese-influenced thyroid-boosting meal. Avocado is also great as well.

Yeah, Jordan, completely agree. Another thing I love is doing a greens powder in your smoothie or specifically spirulina. You know, we talked about spirulina and chlorella, all the benefits. Doing a shot of that a couple times a day, absolutely fantastic here. So we got wild salmon, we've got bone broth, we've got seaweed.

Fish roe, R-O-E.

There we go. So we got fish roe. You know, the other thing I would say here, Jordan, are foods that are— or berries that are very, very dark, specifically cranberries and blueberries and pomegranates, very dark in nature, contain anthocyanins and other antioxidants that may in fact support thyroid health as well. Berries here. Any other foods you want to add to this list before we jump into our key nutrients?

I think there is going to be a very great interest in fat, which we're going to talk about a little later, and we want to call that out specifically. But when you're consuming foods that are naturally high in beneficial fats, you're always going to be better off. So these are some of the top foods to support thyroid health.

All right, here we go. Keys number 2, the top nutrients That you need here to support the thyroid?

You already mentioned B vitamins, but there's really 3 nutrients that I believe most people that have clammy cold hands and feet, thinning hair, mood swings, dry skin, metabolism issues, otherwise known as hypothyroid or Hashimoto's thyroiditis, 3 nutrients that I believe are most important. One we talked about is iodine, a good absorbable source. So, a good source of iodine is very important. It's really great to get tested so that you know how much iodine you need, but a normal iodine supplement, again, from a good source is really, really beneficial. Number 2 is selenium.

Oh, yeah.

A lot of people, particularly the more severe your thyroiditis is, are deficient in selenium. And selenium is one of the only nutrients that has a cancer claim on it.

Yeah.

So, consumption of selenium may reduce the risk of certain cancers, that's right on the supplement, it's called a health claim. Number 3, vitamin D. I don't know what percentage this is, Josh, but so many women and men who deal with thyroid issues are deficient in vitamin D. So that's a powerful nutrient for you to consume. And we did mention B vitamins, you talked about thiamine and B12, I believe. So these are going to be very, very important.

All right, so we got B vitamins here, we have iodine, we have selenium. And we have vitamin D3. What is a typical clinical dose of some of these things, specifically selenium and vitamin D?

This is something that really does vary because selenium is in micrograms. You got to be very careful, so is iodine. And so what I would recommend as a general rule just to get started is 1 to 3 times the RDA. So the RDA is usually expressed in a percentage. So when it comes to selenium, 200 micrograms to start, you can increase that. I believe that iodine is in the—

100 to 300.

Yeah, 100 to 300, 120 is a really good dose. And vitamin D, I think almost everybody, especially the season we're going into, fall and winter, could use 5,000 to 10,000. And if you're deficient in vitamin D, your doctor may even recommend as high as 50,000. But you've got to get your vitamin D levels where they need to be. And you know what else is great for the thyroid that's not on here? Sunshine.

Oh, big time.

Sunshine is as good for the thyroid as it is for anything. So, get sun, especially in your eyes. Not staring into the sun per se, but make sure that you're not wearing sunglasses. Sun is great for the thyroid.

Will this help Hashimoto's disease? Absolutely. In fact, Jordan, what percentage or around a percentage do you think of people that have hypothyroidism actually have Hashimoto's thyroiditis?

I think people are now believing about 25% of those with diagnosed hypothyroidism have Hashimoto's, which is an autoimmune disease where Parts of your body are attacking your thyroid. Now, I have certain opinions about autoimmune disease. I think it's really triggered with toxicity, both from the environment and the diet. I don't believe the body was designed to attack itself, but this chronic inflammation, this expression of bodily breakdown is referred to as an autoimmune disease.

Yeah.

And I don't want people to freak out. And think about this, we all have heard of it as, in the old days, Hashimoto's goiter. Because you might be watching and saying, well, I don't have a big bump on my neck. That's severe.

Yeah.

That's severe deficiency, particularly iodine and other nutrients. But so many people have undiagnosed subclinical hypothyroidism. And one of the easy ways to check is to do an underarm temperature first thing in the morning because a lot of women are in the 96s. And you do this based upon your cycle as well. If you're menstruating, it's going to change anyway. I believe if you've got thinning hair, depression, dry skin, trouble losing weight, focusing, concentrating, you likely have thyroid imbalance. It's time to balance it. Start with foods, then with nutrients, and specifically, this is probably the big—

Huge.

I don't want to say this is the biggest because all of these are so important, but adaptogenic herbs are in such great need for people that have thyroid issues.

Yeah, Jordan, you know, I'm a huge fan of adaptogenic herbs. We could, you know, we'll list. several here, I'll write a list up here. One of my favorites, Jordan, which I know is one that we're both going to touch on is ashwagandha, sort of known as one of those crown jewels in Ayurvedic medicine today. And there are some great studies specifically on it supporting specifically TSH levels in the body, T3, T4.

Absolutely.

And the amazing thing about adaptogenic herbs, Jordan, is that I also read in one of these studies is they did a really comprehensive review of There were several studies done on ashwagandha, and the incredible thing was is that it also helped cortisol. They found that in the studies, but they found even people with low cortisol helped and people with high cortisol. So adaptogenic herbs are unique. They're called adaptogens because they help your body better adapt and deal with stress, but they don't necessarily force your body to do one thing or the other. They help bring your body back into balance.

Absolutely. And there are several. Ashwagandha is as good as it gets.

Okay.

It is spelled a few different ways, so we'll see if Josh can spell it right the first time. The second adaptogenic herb we want to recommend is Rhodiola rosea, otherwise known as golden or Arctic root. Josh, this is pretty cool, but a good friend of mine, the late Dr. Zakir Ramazanov, brought Rhodiola to America. It's amazing. This man was a pioneer in Russian or former USSR herbs, let's just say. But Rhodiola rosea was actually used by Russian cosmonauts. To help them get acclimated to the reverse gravitational or anti-gravity effect that you experience in space. Rhodiola is great for athletes, but it's great for people that have mild to moderate depression. Rhodiola rosea is amazing, probably slightly behind ashwagandha, but really, really good. It has some different benefits. What's great about adaptogens, the more you combine, The better you do. So that's 2. You've got ginseng. Ginseng is a little bit aggressive. It's a heating herb. And so if you're somebody who's weak, listless, has a weak pulse, pallor complexion, ginseng is good for you. But there are different kinds of ginseng. There is Panax, Korean or Asian ginseng, which is powerful. There's American ginseng, which is a little more balanced. And then there's an herb called eleuthero, which used to be known as Siberian ginseng. Those are all adaptogens. Ginseng used to be so popular. I don't know if you remember.

Oh, big time, yeah.

There are ginseng extracts that are worth thousands and thousands of dollars, and it's just a really cool herb. Holy basil is another great adaptogen. Schisandra berry is a great adaptogen. It has all 5 flavors, and yes, there are 5 flavors. And if you want to improve your thyroid, start consuming naturally sour and bitter foods as well. You'll find those in schisandra. So adaptogenic herbs are very, very important. So detoxifying herbs. Most researchers believe that the increase in thyroid issues, hypothyroidism, thyroiditis, Hashimoto's, is due to toxins. So detoxifying herbs, particularly of the liver, are very important. Now, you wouldn't normally think milk thistle for thyroid.

Yeah.

But I think milk thistle and turmeric, which supplies sulfur compounds, are really, really good for detoxifying your thyroid. So now notice adaptogenic herbs balance the body, whereas we're calling these detoxifying herbs important components to help remove toxins from the body. Now we know, Josh, he's hiding down there writing, but we know that heavy metals can be a big issue with thyroid. Most people that have thyroiditis or hypothyroidism are also high in lead, cadmium, mercury, or arsenic. So, and it could be from a lot of things. In fact, many people will recommend getting your dental amalgams, your mercury fillings removed. Now, always do that under the care of a biological dentist, but heavy metal issues are big. So when you're looking at detoxifying herbs, milk thistle, turmeric, and the single-celled microalgae chlorella, we talked about that before.

Yeah.

You know what else is great? Now, this isn't even an herb. This is something that in Ayurvedic medicine is more of a healing substance called shilajit. Shilajit is a substance, almost like a dirt-like substance that is made up of decomposed plant material over thousands of years and it binds heavy metals through fulvic acid and other sources.

Oh yeah, incredible.

Down here, cilantro is a great herb to detoxify heavy metals and broccoli seed Is great to detoxify everything through boosting the liver's phase 2 detoxification. So adaptogenic herbs, detoxifying herbs.

All right. So we're going to put a few more down here. I'm going to list off dandelion down here as well, another great detoxifying herb.

Dandelion's bitter. So remember when I said consume naturally sour and bitter substances, bitter helps the liver. Now obviously, some things are bitter because they're poisonous, but a non-poisonous bitter Helps the liver. We talk about digestive bitters before meals stimulating gastric secretions. Sounds pretty cool. Parsley is a great detoxifier as well, similar to cilantro, although cilantro may be a little stronger in its affinity for mercury.

And another one you love, what about watercress?

Watercress is awesome, but it could be mildly goitrogenic. So, in fact, if you're going to consume a cruciferous vegetable, watercress is the best.

Yeah.

But it may contain a little bit of compound that could cause issues with your thyroid. Most people, if they're moderate or mild in their thyroid condition, can consume watercress. It's getting more popular, by the way.

Absolutely. All right, we'll jump on to 5 here. I want to answer a comment though. Somebody is asking a question about, what about bentonite clay and charcoal? I'm going to give you my opinion on this. I think those can be beneficial, especially if somebody has diarrhea, forms of IBS. I think with this in particular, you do need to be aware and cautious with doing too much charcoal especially, and maybe with clay, but even more with charcoal, that it does bind to things and even some minerals in the body. And so you need to be careful if you have Hashimoto's or hypothyroidism overdoing any type of charcoal for detoxification. My preference would be doing more of these herbs instead.

And shilajit, we didn't write down because you don't always spell it correctly.

Okay.

But shilajit actually is really good. Okay, essential oils, speaking of which, there are several essential oils that are really good for the thyroid, but I know 3 in particular. So, I won't make you guess them, but I'm going to say the first and it's frankincense. How many times do we have a list of essential oils that we mention frankincense? Every time. But frankincense is great. Boswellia, which is the Latin name for frankincense, is great for the thyroid, great to support healthy inflammation. And it has to be the king of the essential oils. Can't get enough frankincense, pour it on my head every day, it's just awesome. Any citrus essential oil is great. You need more of them every day. Lemon is really good. Another thyroid-boosting essential oil, what do we have? I've got one in mind, but what's here?

Well, one of the things that comments, and this is one I was going to say, is Tiffany says lemongrass. Lemongrass is a fantastic detoxifier. Part of its benefits are getting rid of parasites within the body is one benefit. There's actually another one that's even better at it than that. But lemongrass also really has an ability, it's known as being purifying and cleansing. You know, Jordan, I love making a lemongrass soup. I add a few drops of lemongrass oil, making a soup with coconut milk.

That's a great base for a fish soup. So we're going to get to that in a little while, but combining coconut product, which is great for the thyroid, Fish, seaweed, and lemongrass, you are there.

Oh, yeah.

I'm going to add peppermint. Peppermint is a great essential oil for the thyroid, smells wonderful. Now, you can inhale these oils, you can use olfaction, you know, the olfactory nervous system. You can also consume them. When you use essential oils for thyroid, particularly internally, look for certified organic and look for oils that are labeled as a dietary supplement. I would be consuming Frankincense, lemon, lemongrass, peppermint, and chamomile for the thyroid as much as humanly possible.

Yeah. And one of the things I want to mention, one of the reasons I love Roman chamomile especially is that, Jordan, part of the reason why people can develop thyroid issues and organ issues in general is emotional stress. Just during those times when you're really stressed out, I think this is why a lot of women around childbearing age or after their childbearing years tend tend to develop thyroid issues is there's so much stress, so much going, going, going nonstop. It's just very stressful on the body. So chamomile and lavender, both of those oils I love because they just relax the body, they reduce stress. You know, I love having patients do a cup of Epsom salts in a bath with about 20 to 30 drops of lavender or chamomile oil just to relax and de-stress. It is so beneficial for the thyroid.

And lavender is probably the other. And again, if you look at frankincense and lavender, I don't know anything that they don't benefit, but lavender is great, as Josh mentioned, for stress and to help balance the body. So those are some powerful essential oils for the thyroid. Folks, there are many keys out there to heal hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's. This is not an all-inclusive list. In fact, we're going to do a follow-up program in the future, but if you will Take hold of this information and apply it. You're going to benefit in so many ways. You might be saying, I don't have hypothyroidism. I'm not cold and clammy. I don't have thinning hair. I don't have energy loss. I don't have overweight issues or digestive problems. You can still benefit from these recommendations. So, what's next? This is a big one.

Oh, yeah.

Medicinal mushrooms. Now, we talked about adaptogenic herbs and I'm trying to be very Correct in my kingdoms. Now folks, you may not realize this from biology, but there are six kingdoms and fungi or mushrooms—they're not a vegetable as you may have been told. They are a kingdom unto themselves, and there are two that are great for the thyroid. One in particular is reishi. Reishi mushroom is how what they would call the bomb for hypothyroidism. Reishi has been used for thousands of years. Called the mushroom of immortality and it is truly amazing. The third, well, we'll give you lion's mane. Lion's mane mushroom is great for the brain. Lion's mane for the brain, it's also super cool, tastes good. You know what's awesome? Lion's mane tastes kind of like chicken.

Oh, yeah.

It's great in broth.

So good.

They use it in all kinds of recipes in China and Japan. The third is cordyceps. Cordyceps and reishi are ultimate adaptogens. I got to tell you, Josh, for performance, if you look at cordyceps, reishi, Combined with rhodiola, ashwagandha, ginseng, you are going to the moon. Not in a stimulant fashion, but those are just amazing. They are prized around the world. And how many of you, be honest, have consumed reishi, cordyceps, or any of these on a daily basis? Now, first of all, reishi is not really known as a culinary mushroom, it's a medicinal mushroom.

Sure.

comes from a unique place, so not typical that someone's going to go find a winter moth summer mushroom. But either way, these are powerful. Think adaptogens when you think thyroid issues. This is amazing because now we've got medicinal mushrooms, essential oils, detoxifying herbs, adaptogenic herbs, foods, and there's more. What's next?

Actually, I do want to mention this, just a recipe.

Put it back in the cage.

Another recipe idea here quick. Jordan, one of the things I did is we talk about You know, maybe a little bit about Chinese medicine here. Patients with thyroid issues in the past, I would actually have them make a broth and add miso to it along with shiitake mushrooms. Now, we know shiitake isn't necessarily as powerful as cordyceps and reishi, but again, if you want to actually do this as food, going to your local health food store and buying shiitake mushrooms are still beneficial.

It could be a Three Kingdom Soup. Think about this. So you've got bone broth or surf and turf soup. You've got bone broth, which is from the animal kingdom, whether it's fish, chicken, beef, turkey. You've got fungi, so shiitake, which is an edible culinary mushroom, tastes wonderful. And then seaweed, which is— now, hold on, I think I have to correct myself. Seaweed, I don't even believe is a vegetable. I think it might be in the protist kingdom. So we're up to 4 kingdoms. This is going to be a cool recipe.

All right.

We've got to put that down. So, you've got seaweed and then you can add any vegetable. We talked about that before. Coconut would be great because that's in the plant kingdom.

So, here we go. All right, number 7, probiotics. You know, probiotics are crucial for the health of not only your thyroid but your gut. You know, Jordan, one of the things that I know that you and I really believe in and have done over the years in taking care of clients or patients is not just addressing the symptoms, but addressing the root cause of disease. And so often, and if this has ever been you, hey, can we get a yes or an amen or give us your quick story or rundown here? Have you ever been to a doctor and you go in there, maybe it's a thyroid issue, maybe it's a hormone issue or something else, and they just give you a medication to treat your symptom and you never get better? They never go and actually address the root cause of what you're suffering from or what's causing your disease. And Hippocrates said over 2,000 years ago, all disease begins in the gut. And Jordan and I both believe that it is crucial that if you're going to heal your thyroid, your adrenals, your hormones, any area of your body, you've got to heal and seal that gut lining first and repopulate the good bacteria in your gut. And Jordan, we mentioned B vitamins earlier and how crucial they are to health. Here's the problem. Some of you are getting B vitamins in some of your food. You may be even taking a B vitamin supplement, but you're not absorbing all of the B vitamins you should be or even producing enough yourself. And that's where probiotics come in. They increase absorption, increase digestion so your body can absorb and get more of that thiamine and folate and vitamin B12 that your body has to have in order for the And Jordan, I know you were one of the pioneers of probiotic supplements out there, specifically soil-based organisms. So, what do people need to know about probiotics specifically when it comes both to the gut and thyroid health?

Now, just so you all know, pioneer is not synonymous with old. I just want you to know, pioneer could be a very new pioneer. Probiotics and fermented foods are critical for your digestive tract and they're now saying that probably half or 75% of the people with thyroid issues also have leaky gut syndrome or gut hyperpermeability. Probiotics are a must. Consuming a probiotic supplement is important. Now, probiotics, particularly the Bacillus genus, generate proteolytic enzymes 24 hours a day. They're enzyme factories. When you have thyroid issues, it's critical that you digest your protein properly. Yeah. So probiotics are great, fermented foods are amazing, even sauerkraut, which I would say typically if you have severe hypothyroidism, stay away from cabbage, but fermented cabbage is different. Kimchi is actually a great food for your thyroid. And we talked about this before, miso is amazing. So if you're going to do a power broth, we talked about our Four Kingdom broth, doing a bone broth with an additional miso in it would be absolutely awesome. Miso, natto, even tempeh, those types of fermented soy in small amounts can be very beneficial. You know what's not beneficial? We didn't even mention this, soy and gluten.

Oh, gosh.

Now, we didn't put this down, so I'm going to skip over that, but if you have hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, or undiagnosed low thyroid, remember, low energy, hair loss or thinning, dry skin, Mood swings, gut issues, weight gain and weight loss difficulty, gluten and soy. So gluten and phytates are a no-no, and we're going to talk about that a little bit with the diet.

Absolutely. Well, let's jump right in here, Jordan. The ideal diet when it comes to healing your thyroid, Hashimoto's disease, and any type of thyroid issue. You know, Jordan, one of the questions we get so often when we talk about the thyroid Is, will this diet help not just hypothyroidism, will it also help Hashimoto's, Graves' disease, and hyperthyroidism?

Absolutely. Now, most of what you're going to see here will help both thyroid conditions. However, if you have hyperthyroid, you probably don't want excess iodine. You don't want supplemental iodine, you may not want a lot of sea veggies, but if you've got thyroid imbalance, which almost everybody does, A good diet to be on or at least to try out would be a higher fat, moderate protein, and limited starch and sugar diet. So, eat simply, meat and vegetables, broths are really good. You talk about one pot all the time because you can get all of these benefits. We also believe that consuming coconut products, oil and coconut butter, coconut meat are all great for the thyroid.

Oh, yeah.

We've heard about coconut oil being a miracle for the thyroid, I think that's a I think that's a tad bit exaggerated.

Sure.

But if you want to try coconut oil, 2 to 4 tablespoons a day, medium-chain fatty acids are great for the thyroid. They're easily metabolized and they're wonderful. But try a higher-fat, moderate-protein diet, cut out the gluten, cut out the cow's milk dairy unless it's beta-casein A1-free, remove soy, and don't rely as heavily on non-sprouted legumes and beans, peanuts included. So, those are all going to potentially irritate the thyroid.

Yeah, I want to give you an idea of maybe what this ideal diet looks like for hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's disease, and really any type of thyroid issue, Jordan. I would start off every morning with a bone broth smoothie. We talked about in Chinese medicine, dark-colored fruits specifically are very nourishing to the thyroid. So a blueberry smoothie, I do a scoop of a bone broth powder. I would do 1 cup of blueberries. I'd do some coconut milk. And that's really the ideal sort of smoothie there for breakfast. For lunch and dinner both, I mean, ideally one of the things you're going to be focusing on is getting some broth in. So I would do maybe a chicken broth or a fish broth soup. You know, one of the other things you can do, Jordan, I've recommended doing a mushroom miso soup with some shiitakes.

Shroom broth.

Some shroom broth, absolutely amazing there.

And you can mix that with bone broth too.

That's fantastic. And then for dinner, I would recommend doing— and let me say this, if you're going to do any type of grain, we don't recommend many grains if you're struggling with any type of autoimmune issue. But specifically for the thyroid, if one grain is going to be okay, it's going to be a sprouted long-cooked rice, actually even a dark forbidden rice in the Crock-Pot that's sprouted.

Yes.

You can go online and just Google search on Amazon.com or go to a health food store, find Sprouted rice, and that's going to be the least damaging to the body. So again, doing sprouted rice. And then for dinner, you know, some organic meat, maybe a piece of wild-caught salmon, Jordan, with double sides of vegetables, cooked vegetables. That's sort of what the ideal meal plan looks like for somebody struggling with Hashimoto's.

I'm smiling because we're entertaining some guests tonight, and what we're doing is we're having roasted chicken and we're having sprouted black rice In a base of bone broth with peas. It's kind of cool because black rice is really purple rice, by the way, and one good brand, Lotus Foods, makes it, several others. You can also get black quinoa. So you're getting the same antioxidants in blueberries.

I've tried black quinoa.

So you've already had that amazing smoothie in the morning with bone broth, coconut, and blueberries. So you got the high dark-colored fruits, you've got bone broth, you've got coconut, and now for dinner, The rice can be really good, but look for dark-colored grains. Even if you're going to consume a grain, there's really cool purple corn from Peru. I don't recommend a lot of it, but those are all super high in antioxidants and you can impress your friends with them too because black rice is just awesome. It's really cool.

Yeah, I do want to mention again, cook it longer, cook it in a Crock-Pot or pressure cooker.

Bone broth, no water, so you're infusing it with nutrients.

Yup, absolutely. Jordan, let's do a quick rundown here and then answer some questions here as well. Let's do our quick 1-minute rundown. Why don't we take turns? You do 1, I'll do 2, you do 3, and we'll go through these.

Absolutely. So thyroid-boosting foods, wild salmon is great for antioxidants and omega-3 fats, also a source of iodine. Bone broth, a great source of proteins for healing your thyroid. Seaweed is a good source of iodine and minerals. Fish roe is a good source of everything, it's brain-boosting, and berries Have anthocyanins that are dark in color providing powerful antioxidants.

Absolutely. Some of the key nutrients here, remember B vitamins, these are crucial for the health of your thyroid. Specifically, thiamine, folate, and vitamin B12 are critical. Iodine is important. Do be conscious though of your iodine supplementation if you have an autoimmune condition, specifically Graves' disease, and the amount you're taking. Again, you may want to work with a natural practitioner with that if you do have Graves'. Selenium, again, 200 micrograms a day, a great source of those is Brazil nuts. And vitamin D3, I would say days you're not getting sun especially, 5,000 to 10,000 IU a day. Without a doubt, everybody should be doing that in the winter months.

Absolutely. Adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha, rhodiola, ginseng, American ginseng, eleuthero, Astragalus and licorice and holy basil. Make sure to consume adaptogenic herbs in teas and supplements every day no matter who you are.

Absolutely. Detoxifying herbs here. I want to mention actually shilajit. Now, in traditional Chinese medicine, that's known as a detoxifying slash— they even call it an adaptogen, shilajit, which is pretty incredible. Detoxifying herbs, milk thistle contains silymarin, one of the best. Turmeric, cilantro, broccoli seed, dandelion, chlorella, all of these support the liver and your detoxification channels. We know toxicity has been linked with thyroid problems.

Absolutely, especially heavy metals. Some of the favorite essential oils, I'll just go with 3, frankincense, lemon, and lavender. They are a powerful threesome for your thyroid. So go ahead and use essential oils. Topically, inhale them, and take them orally every day as long as they're organic and marked as a dietary supplement.

Absolutely. Medicinal mushrooms, here are some of our favorites. Lion's mane, which we know in particular is also good for the gut-brain connection as well as the thyroid. Reishi, maybe the most powerful of the bunch in terms of its clinical studies. And cordyceps, talk about a natural energy booster and endurance enhancer.

These are all fantastic mushrooms when it comes to And because nearly half, if not 75% of those with thyroid issues also have leaky gut, probiotics and fermented foods. We're talking about sauerkraut, miso, kefir, and more. Get fermented foods and probiotics in your diet to generate enzymes and boost immunity.

And last but not least, get rid of the processed sugar in your diet, get rid of the gluten, get rid of soy and GMO foods. You got to get those completely out of your diet, and I even say, You got to be careful of over-consuming carbohydrates and sugar. Those will definitely weigh down your gut and your thyroid there as well. Consume lots of healthy fats, coconut oil, avocado, you know, and some omega-3s, you know, wild-caught salmon in your diet, and then lots of good sources of amino acids like bone broth and cooked vegetables. That's an ideal diet for the thyroid. Jordan, let's jump into some questions here from people. See what they have to say. Anthony says, I've heard chaga is also great along with reishi for thyroid health.

Now, keep in mind, every nation and culture has their favorite mushroom, their favorite herb, and their favorite fruit. So pomegranate is not any worse than acai, they're both amazing. Chaga is awesome. Chaga is the most famed mushroom of Russia. It's really not a mushroom, it's actually a tree fungus, but it is awesome for your skin. It's really, really great. It's the best probably for a shroom broth actually because it's the most similar in my mind to a bone broth. Absolutely, chaga is great.

All right, a question here. What do you look for when buying a supplement brand or your favorite supplement brand? What do you look for in a supplement brand?

Well, when you're looking for supplements, I really recommend whole food, organic, digestive-focused. I formulated hundreds of supplements over the years. And those are really the pillars that I formulate from. You want whole or real food, you want something that is organic or at the very least contains organic ingredients, and you want a digestive focus because the gut really is the key to overall health.

Someone asked a question here and it's a great question. How do you do— from Jamie, she says, how would you eat like this on a budget? So Jamie, my answer is this, is that you Use a Crock-Pot. I really think, you know, if you go out— Jordan, I go to my local farmers market is one thing, and sometimes we'll buy in bulk. But, you know, I'll go and buy organic chicken from my local farmers market and actually get chicken feet and backs and actually make those, make my own broth in the Crock-Pot. That's one great way. Add in chicken, have your own garden, or again, shop at your farmers market. Even places like Costco have a lot of organic options today. So I would say doing big bowls of bone broth soup is a great— and using, again, even sprouted rice, I mean, that goes a long way. So doing that in a Crock-Pot, again, remember, I really believe diet is number one there. And you don't need to take 10 supplements, maybe pick one. Jordan, what would be your 1 or 2 top supplements or herbs or things to take for somebody if they're doing this on a budget?

Well, first of all, if you are on a budget, you can buy bulk herbs online or at your local health food store. And we talked about this before, you can make a tea.

Yeah.

Or a decoction 3 times with 1 tablespoon of herbs. So, as far as supplements go, I think for thyroid, I'd be kind of torn between a probiotic, an adaptogenic herbal formula, and something that has these nutrients in it. So, I think it's kind of a toss-up. And of course, medicinal mushrooms are great. But if you're on a budget, try to do it with no supplements or find a thyroid-supporting supplement that has all of this in there.

Absolutely.

Mushrooms, probiotics, herbs, and vitamins, they are out there.

Absolutely. Here, a couple more questions here and then we'll wrap up here. Let's see here. Is there something specific— Sarita asked, what recommendations do you guys have for hyperthyroidism? With hyperthyroidism, it really is the same thing here. I mean, I really believe that, again, we got to heal and seal the gut lining. Your body might be reacting differently than somebody with hypo, but I really believe it's all about healing and sealing that gut lining. So I would say the same thing in terms of following the diet, getting probiotics are huge, and ashwagandha. I think it's a great herb for anybody there.

Absolutely.

Let's see here. One more question here. Okay. Please take a picture of the board and post it online. We'll definitely do that. And then Carolyn, last question, she says, What would you recommend for somebody who's on a plant-based diet who doesn't eat meat?

Well, we talked about this. Seaweed is important. Remember we said shroom broth? So, go ahead and make a mushroom broth with seaweed and coconut. It is the bomb. That's shroom broth. I totally agree. And it's not exactly like bone broth, and I would still say bone broth is amazing, but if you're on a plant-based diet, that's important. Chia and flaxseed, particularly chia, are really good for the thyroid. And all of these herbs are plant-based. Now, you can still consume a lower carbohydrate, higher fat and protein diet, even plant-based. More nuts, not legumes, more nuts, seeds, and fats, and veggies. You can still do it, particularly with Shroom Broth.

Yeah, and I would say when you're eating grains, you know, get sprouted quinoa and sprouted rice. Make those your 2 go-to grains. And I would also say this, if you are on a plant-based diet, it's even more important that you're getting A couple things here, probiotics and a good B complex vitamin, especially getting B12 in your diet. I think that's going to be critical.

And sunshine for vitamin D.

And vitamin D. So get those things if you're on a plant-based diet.

Make sure that you tell somebody who needs to boost their thyroid, if they lack energy, if they are depressed, if they're overweight, you know somebody like that, tell them to check out this video because these keys will help them heal their thyroid and transform their life.

Hi, Dr. Axe here. I want to say thanks so much for checking out this YouTube video and also don't forget to subscribe if you want to get more great content on things like herbs, essential oils, natural remedies, and how to use food as medicine. Also, check out more of our content on my YouTube channel. Thanks for watching.